SUZUKI RIDERS EXCEL FROM COLORADO, TO WISCONSIN AND ITALY
June 1, 2015
BREA, CA – From a slew of podium finishes in Colorado and Wisconsin to a MotoGP season-best in Italy, team riders proudly flew the Suzuki banner on a great weekend of motorcycle racing across the globe.
Suzuki highlights for the final racing weekend of May 2015 included:
- Two Suzuki riders (Ken Roczen and Blake Baggett) standing on the podium at the True Value Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado
- Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett scoring his first-career 450 Motocross podium
- Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike riders Roger Hayden and Jake Lewis scoring podium finishes at the scenic Road America
- Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales racing to his best result of the MotoGP season with a seventh position at Mugello
Rocky Mountain High In Colorado for Suzuki Motocrossers
It was a milestone weekend for Team Suzuki riders in AMA Pro Motocross action at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado. Two of the three podium spots at Lakewood were occupied by factory Suzuki riders Ken Roczen (Soaring Eagle/ Jimmy Johns/ Suzuki Factory Racing) and Blake Baggett (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing). The Lakewood circuit is held at nearly a mile-high elevation. That makes it one of the most grueling rounds not only for the riders, but also for the bikes, putting the power of them to the test with less oxygen to the engines. The fuel-injected Suzuki RM-Z450 machines came through with flying colors in the thin air.
Roczen went (3-2) to finish second overall in Colorado, while Baggett’s (4-3) netted him third overall. It was Baggett’s career-first AMA Pro 450 Motocross podium finish.
Flat Tire Costs Roczen a Potential Win
Roczen said adjustments to his RCH Suzuki RM-Z450 in the second moto at Lakewood made all the difference for him. A flat tire late in the second moto cost him what might have been an overall victory and caused him to crash a couple of times.
“My day went a lot better,” said Roczen, who’s climbed all the way up to fourth in the series standings. “I struggled a bit with bike setup in the first moto, but we made a great change in the second one that made things a lot easier for me. I had a flat with about two laps to go, so that’s why I went down twice. I was really bummed because that win should have been mine. It’s unfortunate, but I’m happy to be on the podium. We’ll work on it from here and I’ll try to get stronger. It’s just good to be back in the hunt.”
Another First for Baggett
Third overall at Lakewood was Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett. It was a milestone finish for the 450 Motocross rookie, marking his first-career podium in the class. His performance also moved him up to third in the series standings.
“It was definitely a good week,” Baggett said. “Practice went well, got a fourth in the first moto and then in the second moto I was fortunate enough to get a little bit of a gift when the leader went down and I was able to finish third. I’m just plugging away and each week is getting better and better. I got third overall, so my first podium on the 450. I’m just excited to keep improving and I’m looking forward to next weekend.”
RCH Suzuki’s Broc Tickle also had an outstanding weekend, finishing fourth overall, making it three Suzuki riders in the top five overall. It was definitely a weekend to remember on the outdoor national circuit for Suzuki.
Podiums for Jake Lewis and Roger Hayden at the Scenic Road America
The MotoAmerica Series was back in action this weekend, this time in front of a sizable crowd at the legendary Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden came up just .136 of a second shy of a victory in MotoAmerica Superbike race one, a day after celebrating his 32nd birthday. Hayden hounded Cameron Beaubier throughout the 14-lap race, but came up just short at the finish in his attempt to slingshot into the lead. Third place in race one went to Hayden's rookie teammate, Jake Lewis. The Kentuckian repeated the effort in race two, beating his teammate Hayden to end his day with another third-place finish.
“I kind of put myself into a hole in qualifying, crashing out and having to start ninth,” Hayden admitted while talking about Elkhart Lake’s race one. “But I got a really good start and was right there with the leaders in turn one thanks to the power of the bike. I just hung on there for a while and then Josh (Hayes) crashed and we lost a little bit of time. I caught back up to Cameron and just was right there. I was really hoping to make a pass on him on the last lap, but I just didn’t make it happen.”
For Lewis, Road America marked another race of rapid learning and being consistent.
“This weekend was pretty good,” Lewis explained. “I was pretty happy with two podiums and I felt I rode a lot better than I have recently. I was able to run with the front guys in both races and see what I need to work on. I had a good qualifying session and got off to two great starts. I felt good in all the conditions we had here. It gives me a lot of momentum and confidence going into the next round. Hopefully I’ll be fighting up front again and finish even a little higher up.”
Road America’s finishes kept Lewis and Hayden in third and fourth respectively in the MotoAmerica AMA Superbike standings as the series heads to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 12-14.
The Road America races will be nationally televised on June 7th on CBS Sports Network at 2:00 pm Eastern.
More Suzuki Success at Elkhart Lake
Other highlights at Road America included a strong run by Suzuki GSX-R600 rider Nick McFadden in MotoAmerica Superstock 600. McFadden qualified third on his McFadden Racing Suzuki to start from the front row. He went on to record 7th and 4th-place finishes in the two Superstock rounds.
“We started off the weekend learning the track,” McFadden said. “I haven’t been here since 2010, so it took me awhile to get up to speed. Third was my best qualifying of the year. That was a positive note for us. On Saturday it was wet and I was happy to keep it up on two wheels. Today (Sunday) we came out and got off to a good start hung with the leaders all day and ended up fourth. Overall it was a good weekend. It’s my best finish of the year and I’m happy with it.”
Melissa Paris scored a solid eighth-place result in Saturday’s MotoAmerica Supersport race aboard her M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. It marked her best result of the season.
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki's David Anthony crashed out of contention in Saturday’s Supersport while pushing to make up ground on his GSX-R600. Anthony bounced back on Sunday to score a solid sixth-place result.
“In Saturday's race, we started off a bit slow,” Anthony explained. “I was making progress and moved up to fourth, but apparently I was pushing a bit too hard and threw it down the road. It was a dry one today (Sunday), but again, we didn't have the best start. I got stuck behind a few guys early on and once I got around them, the lead group already had a gap and that was pretty much it."
MotoGP High-Mark for Maverick
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales raced to his best result of the season with seventh position in the MotoGP Sunday at Mugello, Italy. He started fast from his ninth place on the grid and immediately began to fight with the pack ahead, which was hard to battle through despite his own pace being faster, but his performance in the race was consistent for the whole 23-laps, allowing him to take position-after-position.
Suzuki teammate Aleix Espargarò suffered with some bad luck: The Spaniard fought back the pain in his right hand for the whole weekend, but finally ended his race in the gravel due to a crash caused by another rider. Luckily his injured hand didn’t suffer any further damage.
The next action Team Suzuki will see comes next Saturday, June 6, in the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with the Red Bull Tennessee National from Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee.
Fans will get the chance to meet and get an autograph from Suzuki riders Blake Baggett and Broc Tickle on Friday, June 5, at Atlas Suzuki, 2377 Lee Highway, Bristol, VA, 24202, from 6-7:00 pm.
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